Painting with light

On Thursday 18 June the Museum of Brisbane will launch an Exhibition for the work of William Bustard entitled “Painting with Light”. William Bustard designed the Good Shepherd stained glass window which spans the front of the Stanthorpe Uniting Church building. William Bustard was primarily a painter but his designs for windows are featured in many buildings in Queensland.

The Rogerson family provided the memorial window in memory of Susan Elizabeth Busby Rogerson (12 May 1944 – 12 October 1960). There is also a plaque for Colin Rogerson 2 March 1899 – 4 April 1968.

The beauty of stained glass work is best appreciated when light streams through the glass. Our lives are also more beautiful when the light of Christ shines through us.

Grace and Peace,
Kaye

Tough pruning

Long term residents of the Granite Belt will understand the imagery of the vine and the vine dresser. At the moment the vines are changing colour and soon they will drop their leaves ready for the pruning that will ensure fruitfulness next season.

In John 15 Jesus refers to himself as the True Vine and God the Father as the vine dresser. The image helps us to recognise that the whole of God’s people make up the vine and are incorporated into Christ. We cannot be the Church without that connectedness. Furthermore, there may be times when we feel we are being pruned back and that can be painful. As congregations, and as individuals seasons of fruitfulness are often followed by a season of cutting back. Thinking about tough times as pruning can help us find the hope in tough times.

Grace and peace, Kaye

I am carried…

There are many popular and moving songs and hymns that we associate with Easter. I hope that we sing some of your favourites this year.

One contemporary piece written by Australian song writer, Geoff Bullock, is particularly fitting for Easter. It is called “I am carried,” and in the chorus we sing:

Held in grace scarred hands,
I am carried in the arms of grace and love divine.

The imagery of that line captures for me the grace of God extended to all people and to each one of us. The invitation comes each Easter season to reflect on the Risen Crucified Christ and what that means for us.

God be with you.
Kaye

Heart and soul and mind and strength…

Nicodemus went to visit Jesus under the cover of darkness. He was a Jewish leader, a teacher of the law and a member of the Jewish ruling council. In John’s Gospel we meet Nicodemus three times. In chapter three he visits Jesus under the cover of darkness to question Jesus about his teachings. In John 7 Nicodemus reminds his colleagues that a person must be heard before they are judged. Finally, Nicodemus is mentioned in John 19. He helped Joseph of Arimathea to prepare the body of Jesus for burial.

Have you ever met anyone like Nicodemus? He was a deep thinker who explored his faith with his intellect fully engaged. At first when he heard Jesus talk about being born again, he thought that it was nonsense. “A grown man cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born again!” Jesus explained, “A person is born physically of human parents, but spiritually of the Holy Spirit.” Later in the conversation Jesus talks about God’s love for the world expressed in sending his Son to bring hope and help and healing to all people. We are invited to a faith that engages our heart and soul and mind and strength.

God be with you.
Kaye

Out of the rain…

A large city church has a Visitors Book in the entry hall. From time to time the Church secretary read the comments. Mostly they were predictable, “beautiful church”, “inspiring”, “loved the stained glass windows.” One day she chuckled as she read, “We only came in to get out of the rain!” I am sure the members didn’t mind offering hospitality even though it was not the main purpose for which the church was built.

However, in today’s gospel reading from John 2 we heard about the reaction of Jesus to the traders in the temple courtyard who took advantage of the people who had come to worship and offer the sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins. He turned over the tables which foreshadowed that he would turn the religious practices upside down. His death would be the last sacrifice. His resurrection would breathe new life into the old ways as people, by grace, could experience God’s forgiveness.

God be with you.

Kaye

The business of the church…

This week the Uniting Church in Queensland meet at Alexandra Headlands to do the business of the church. Jenny C and I are going from the Granite Belt. At Synod, they avoid the term ‘representative’.
We aren’t actually going to represent issues particular to our area, but to be part of a praying, discerning, deciding body to hear and respond to God’s call to the Church at this time. The business is structured with small group sessions as well as the big ones. The small groups allow for everyone’s voice to be heard, proposals are often significantly altered as a result of this feedback.
The voice of God can be heard through anyone, not just those who are ordained, or are educated, or have powerful positions.  We need all the prayers we can get!  Wisdom, discernment, humility to listen to others with respect, and courage to speak up if we are moved to speak because God might be trying to get a message through.

Grace and Peace,
Jenny

The heavens declare…

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky displays his handiwork. Day after day it speaks out; night after night it reveals his greatness. There is no actual speech or word, nor is its voice literally heard. Yet its voice echoes throughout the earth; its words carry to the distant horizon.” (Psalm 19: 1-4 NET)

One of the beauties of scripture is the language of metaphor that speaks of mysteries beyond human language. Some verses inspire us to see how God is much bigger than we could ever imagine. The witness of creation to the glory of the creator is never-ending. In the 21st century we can look into the night sky and be as amazed by its vastness as ancient people were. May our own voices echo the praise of the heavens.

Grace and Peace,
Jenny

A ‘mantle of safety’.

Where is God calling us to go? The Rev. John Flynn saw the needs of the people of the outback, and worked to establish a “mantle of safety” and help them build communities despite the tyranny of distance. His ministry, now known as Frontier Services, still works over 100 years later to support people in remote areas in practical, emotional and spiritual ways.

We can’t call this the work of one man, even if he was foundational in bringing ideas together and visionary for his time. Many people have used their God-given talents to help and inspire. Nursing sisters traveled from hospitals to nursing posts by any mode of transport from a camel up. Padres visited miners, road gangs and people on isolated properties. The Spirit of God speaking new things into being as Christian men and women lived out their calling.

What is our calling in the Granite Belt? Who are our John Flynns? And who are our unnamed men and women who will walk their faith with joy and perseverance, making a difference to one person at a time?

Grace and Peace,

Jenny

To forgive…

‘To err is human, to forgive divine’ (Alexander Pope)

God invites us to be involved in the divine work of forgiveness. This comes at a cost to us. We are called to be a forgiving people, reflecting God’s grace to us unto others. There are times when forgiveness is not our ‘default position’, when it takes us beyond the edge of what we consider ‘reasonable’. By the time we have forgiven someone ‘seventy times seven’ it would be such a habit, such a part of our identity that we would truly be reflecting the forgiveness of God.

Grace and Peace,
Jenny

Stories…

What do we do when we come to church? Of course, we come to worship God, but part of what we are doing is remembering who God is and what God has done. We remember stories that we were not part of, stories that happened thousands of years ago to other people. We remember stories from our own lives and our parents before us. In our remembering we are thankful for all we have been given, and find comfort in what we have suffered. We also “remember forward”. The events and people we remember influence who we will become and what we will be called to do. In recognizing God’s presence and provision in the past, we become more hopeful of God’s continued presence and provision for our future.

Today is Father’s Day. We remember what influence our fathers have had on us in the past, and how this legacy impacts on our future. Sadly, not everyone is left with the best legacy, but in the time of remembering, we can choose to use all memories (good or bad) to challenge, to inspire, or to turn around our lives. Amen.

Grace and Peace,
Jenny